John Calipari says he’s overrated as a recruiter

On Tuesday, head coach John Calipari met with the media to discuss Wednesday’s matchup with Winthrop.

But that was far from the biggest talking point on this day. Just hours earlier, top-ranked recruit James Wiseman spurned Calipari and Kentucky to pick the Memphis Tigers.

It’s been the latest of many big misses for Calipari on the recruiting trail, and as you can imagine, it was the first topic discussed during Tuesday’s meeting with the media.

Right off the batt, Calipari was asked about having to go against the likes of Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, and now Penny Hardaway on the recruiting trail.

Calipari had an unexpected response.

“I think I’m overrated as a recruiter.”

Calipari added that, when it comes to recruiting, he just wants to “be able to sleep at night. Make sure I’m telling the truth.” He also gave the usual “we get the ones we’re supposed to get” he’s said before after big recruiting misses.

The fact that Calipari said that right after missing on Wiseman is interesting. There’s no question Calipari and his staff have lost a step on the recruiting trail, but he’s still one of the best at what he does.

After all, he already has two top-10 2019 commitments in Tyrese Maxey and Kahlil Whitney, not to mention a very good four-star recruit in Dontaie Allen.

Still, it’s been quite the slump for Kentucky when it comes to landing elite recruits. They’ve not landed a top-five recruit since Skal Labissiere in 2016, and there’s a good chance that happens again in this class after Wiseman went elsewhere.